Welsh actor Michael Sheen won a top acting trophy at his home country's version of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards on Sunday (29Sep13). The Frost/Nixon star picked up the best actor prize at the BAFTA Cymru ceremony in Cardiff for his role in The Passion, which he filmed on the streets in his hometown of Port Talbot.
Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Jones missed out on the best actress award, which was presented to Sara Lloyd Gregory for her role in Welsh language drama Alys. However, Jones went home with the best writer prize for her show Stella.
Welsh producer Julie Gardner, who has helmed Doctor Who, took away the Sian Phillips award for producing. The ceremony also marked the 50th anniversary of the sci-fi show, which is filmed in Cardiff, with a montage of clips.

Phillips passed away after suffering a heart attack in Malibu, California, after recently wrapping up his work on the upcoming Superman reboot Man Of Steel.
Roth worked with Phillips on Quentin Tarantino's movie Inglourious Basterds, and took to his Twitter.com page to remember his colleague.
He tweeted, "Very sorry to hear Lloyd Phillips died. He was a producer on Basterds and a really nice guy. A great photographer too. He will be missed."
Phillips' credits also include The Tourist, Twelve Monkeys and The Legend of Zorro, and he won an Academy Award in 1981 as the producer of live-action short The Dollar Bottom.
According to trade publication Variety, he was in pre-production on mystery thriller The Great Wall, and had signed up to executive produce XXX: The Return of Xander Cage with Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson.

Oh, September 2002 — what a strange and magical time. The fresh beats of boy bands were in the air, sophomore homecoming was just around the corner, and I actually cared, deeply, about Kelly Clarkson beating Justin Guarini on the first season of American Idol. I voted for her every week, discussed her future career with my friends, and felt the bitter sting of injustice when Tamyra Gray was voted out before Nikki McKibbin. That's right — 10 years later, I still remember the third and fourth place contestants' names. That floppy-haired dude starred in a movie, for God's sake. But now, after a decade of reality singing competition domination, I must confess — despite the fact that I was in the audience, I don't remember who won fourth, third, second, or first place on Season 1 of The Voice. Because they don't need me to — the show's main attraction were the four singers sitting in the judges' panel. And they were already famous.
"I feel like being a judge is like being on The Surreal Life on VH1," says Pao Gonzalez Marra, a 26-year-old Voice, Idol, and X Factor fan from Los Angeles. "I'm sure that's the reason [upcoming Idol judge] Mariah Carey is doing it. [It's] like, people who used to be super on top, and now just want a way in."
Of course, you could argue that judges promoting themselves over their contestants isn't anything new — after all, Simon Cowell has had a strong TV personality for years, and his bank account certainly hasn't suffered. But even though Cowell is now part of the "problem" — bringing together TV's (arguably) biggest-name panel by acquiring Britney Spears — he didn't start out that way. Yes, he was selling himself in 2002, but he was also selling his show — and the success of contestants like Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, for Cowell, meant more seasons and more cash. But producing a show that highlights the tension between himself and Demi Lovato instead of its contestants isn't helping these newbies sell records.
"I work in music, so I have a better eye to the fact that all of the shows are pretty much fake," says Mara Frankel of Brooklyn, NY. "Now it's more about the judges than the singers. I couldn't tell you anyone [competing] on The Voice besides the people who were already in bands."
The winner of Season 1 of The Voice — the first of these shows to garner attention for its larger-than-life judging panel — was Javier Colon, a talented soloist who departed Universal Records shortly after his big win, after disappointing sales and a lack of promotion from the label. "I went into it with high hopes, as I believe everyone did," Colon said in a statement. "But when you pour your heart and soul into a new album that you think is really great, and your label who is supposed to support, market, and promote your music does neither, it's really hard not to be upset. The truth is, we are all better off going our separate ways."
Now counter that with the post-Voice success of Colon's mentor, Adam Levine: The Maroon 5 frontman admitted the band was revived by its collaboration with fellow Voice mentor Christina Aguilera, the blockbuster single "Moves Like Jagger." Their post-Voice album, Overexposed, fared much better than its 2010 predecessor Hands All Over, and Levine was even offered a role on FX's hit drama American Horror Story: Asylum. In short, he's everywhere.
The X Factor noticed The Voice's success and quickly followed suit, offering Spears a whopping $15 million contract to appear on its second season — dropping smaller names Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger. They even hired a Kardashian to host, making X Factor the buzziest show in town.
"I think people want to tune in to hear what kind of crazy s**t will come out of Britney Spears' mouth," Frankel says of the singer, who had previously been largely MIA from live TV since her infamous 2007 meltdown. "It's not about the singers, it's about what the judges have to say — cattily — to each other, instead of their singers."
And though contestant popularity has declined in recent years on many of these shows (sorry, Melanie Amaro), Idol has always been the torch-bearer for finding quality talent over quality judges. That is, until now. Hollywood.com's Kelsea Stahler lamented the recent battle between new hires Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj in a recent post, saying: "The original purpose of American Idol was to find the next Kelly Clarkson. And to some extent, it’s worked. We’ve got Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Carrie Underwood, and even Season 11’s Phillip Phillips still charting thanks to his single “Home” running in the background of every NBC London Olympics promo. Compared to both The Voice and The X Factor (in the U.S.), neither of which have produced a successful winner in their short runs, Idol has a pretty good record for spotlighting talent.... [but] the series itself is dangerously close to losing what’s left of its identity. If this nonsense between the two diva judges continues, Idol may steer into becoming a documentary-style reality show parading as a talent competition – a fate it’s been teetering on since Season 9 when the celebrity judge trend had its first shaky start.
Stahler's argument does bring up one solid point in the contestants' favor — overseas, acts like One Direction and Cher Lloyd have recently found huge success via The X Factor. But unfortunately for fans of discovering new, raw talent on television, that trend is going the opposite way stateside.
"[U.S. singing shows] sign the people they are contractually obligated to sign," Frankel says. "Maybe the runner-up — if they were really popular on the show, maybe we'll [the record companies] bring them in for meetings. But the new people aren't getting any kind of shot at all with a label because of their show."
With that, everyone raise your glass for Emblem3. I'm pulling for you, buddies.
Follow Shaunna on Twitter @HWShaunna
[PHOTO CREDIT: Fox]
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There's an allure to imperfection. With his latest drama Lawless director John Hillcoat taps directly into the side of human nature that draws us to it. Hillcoat finds it in Prohibition history a time when the regulations of alcohol consumption were subverted by most of the population; He finds it in the rural landscapes of Virginia: dingy raw and mesmerizing. And most importantly he finds it in his main character Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) the scrappy third brother of a moonshining family who is desperate to prove his worth. Jack forcefully injects himself into the family business only to discover there's an underbelly to the underbelly. Lawless is a beautiful film that's violent as hell striking in a way only unfiltered Americana could be.
Acting as the driver for his two outlaw brothers Forrest (Tom Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke) isn't enough for Jack. He's enticed by the power of the gangster figure and entranced by what moonshine money can buy. So like any fledgling entrepreneur Jack takes matters into his own hands. Recruiting crippled family friend/distillery mastermind Cricket (Dane DeHaan) the young whippersnapper sets out to brew his own batch sell it to top dog Floyd Banner and make the family rich. The plan works — but it puts the Bondurant boys in over their heads with a new threat: the corrupt law enforcers of Chicago.
Unlike many stories of crime life Lawless isn't about escalation. The movie drifts back and forth leisurely popping in moments like the beats of a great TV episode. One second the Bondurants could be talking shop with their female shopkeep Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain). The next Forrest is beating the bloody pulp out of a cop blackmailing their operation. The plot isn't thick; Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave preferring to bask in the landscapes the quiet moments the haunting terror that comes with a life on the other side of the tracks. A feature film doesn't offer enough time for Lawless to build — it recalls cinema-level TV currently playing on outlets like HBO and AMC that have truly spoiled us — but what the duo accomplish is engrossing.
Accompanying the glowing visuals and Cave's knockout workout on the music side (a toe-tapping mix of spirituals bluegrass and the writer/musician's spine-tingling violin) are muted performances from some of Hollywood's rising stars. Despite LaBeouf's off-screen antics he lights up Lawless and nails the in-deep whippersnapper. His playful relationship with a local religious girl (Mia Wasikowska) solidifies him as a leading man but like everything in the movie you want more. Tom Hardy is one of the few performers who can "uurrr" and "mmmnerm" his way through a scene and come out on top. His greatest sparring partner isn't a hulking thug but Chastain who brings out the heart of the impenetrable beast. The real gem of Lawless is Guy Pearce as the Bondurant trio's biggest threat. Shaved eyebrows pristine city clothes and a temper like a rabid wolverine Pearce's Charlie Rakes is the most frightening villain of 2012. He viciously chews up every moment he's on screen. That's even before he starts drawing blood.
Lawless is the perfect movie for the late August haze — not quite the Oscary prestige picture or the summertime shoot-'em-up. It's drama that has its moonshine and swigs it too. Just don't drink too much.
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While recent animated blockbusters have aimed to viewers of all ages starting with fantastical concepts and breathtaking visuals but tackling complex emotional issues along the way Ice Age: Continental Drift is crafted especially for the wee ones — and it works. Venturing back to prehistoric times once again the fourth Ice Age film paints broad strokes on the theme of familial relationships throwing in plenty of physical comedy along the way. The movie isn't that far off from one of the many Land Before Time direct-to-video sequels: not particularly innovative or necessary but harmless thrilling fun for anyone with a sense of humor. Unless they have a particular distaste for wooly mammoths the kids will love it.
Ice Age: Continental Drift continues to snowball its cartoon roster bringing back the original film's trio (Ray Romano as Manny the Mammoth Denis Leary as Diego the Sabertooth Tiger and John Leguizamo as Sid the Sloth) new faces acquired over the course of the franchise (Queen Latifah as Manny's wife Ellie) and a handful of new characters to spice things up everyone from Nicki Minaj as Manny's daughter Steffie to Wanda Sykes as Sid's wily grandma. The whole gang is living a pleasant existence as a herd with Manny's biggest problem being playing overbearing dad to the rebellious daughter. Teen mammoths they always want to go out and play by the waterfall! Whippersnappers.
The main thrust of the film comes when Scratch the Rat (whose silent comedy routines in the vein of Tex Avery/WB cartoons continue to be the series highlight) accidentally cracks the singular continent Pangea into the world we know today. Manny Diego and Sid find themselves stranded on an iceberg once again forced on a road trip journey of survival. The rest of the herd embarks to meet them giving Steffie time to realize the true meaning of friendship with help from her mole pal Louis (Josh Gad).
The ham-handed lessons may drag for those who've passed Kindergarten but Ice Age: Continental Drift is a lot of fun when the main gang crosses paths with a group of villainous pirates. (Back then monkeys rabbits and seals were hitting the high seas together pillaging via boat-shaped icebergs. Obviously.) Quickly Ice Age becomes an old school pirate adventure complete with maritime navigation buried treasure and sword fights. Gut (Peter Dinklage) an evil ape with a deadly... fingernail leads the evil-doers who pose an entertaining threat for the familiar bunch. Jennifer Lopez pops by as Gut's second-in-command Shira the White Tiger and the film's two cats have a chase scene that should rouse even the most apathetic adults. Hearing Dinklage (of Game of Thrones fame) belt out a pirate shanty may be worth the price of admission alone.
With solid action (that doesn't need the 3D addition) cartoony animation and gags out the wazoo Ice Age: Continental Drift is entertainment to enjoy with the whole family. Revelatory? Not quite. Until we get a feature length silent film of Scratch's acorn pursuit we may never see a "classic" Ice Age film but Continental Drift keeps it together long enough to tell a simple story with delightful flare that should hold attention spans of any length. Massive amounts of sugar not even required.
[Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox]

Widening the thematic scope without sacrificing too much of the claustrophobia that made the original 1979 Alien universally spooky Prometheus takes the trophy for this summer's most adult-oriented blockbuster entertainment. The movie will leave your mouth agape for its entire runtime first with its majestic exploration of an alien planet and conjectures on the origins of the human race second with its gross-out body horror that leaves no spilled gut to the imagination. Thin characters feel more like pawns in Scott's sci-fi prequel but stunning visuals shocking turns and grand questions more than make up for the shallow ensemble. "Epic" comes in many forms. Prometheus sports all of them.
Based on their discovery of a series of cave drawings all sharing a similar painted design Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green) are recruited by Weyland to head a mission to another planet one they believe holds the answers to the creation of life on Earth. Along for the journey are Vickers (Charlize Theron) the ruthless Weyland proxy Janek (Idris Elba) a blue collar captain a slew of faceless scientists and David (Michael Fassbender) HAL 9000-esque resident android who awakens the crew of spaceship Prometheus when they arrive to their destination. Immediately upon descent there's a discovery: a giant mound that's anything but natural. The crew immediately prepares to scope out the scene zipping up high-tech spacesuits jumping in futuristic humvees and heading out to the site. What they discover are the awe-inspiring creations of another race. What they bring back to the ship is what they realize may kill their own.
The first half of Prometheus could be easily mistaken for Steven Spielberg's Alien a sense of wonder glowing from every frame not too unlike Close Encounters. Scott takes full advantage of his fictional settings and imbues them with a reality that makes them even more tantalizing. He shoots the vistas of space and the alien planet like National Geographic porn and savors the interior moments on board the Prometheus full of hologram maps sleeping pods and do-it-yourself surgery modules with the same attention. Prometheus is beautiful shot in immersive 3D that never dampers Dariusz Wolski's sharp photography. Scott's direction seems less interested in the run-or-die scenario set up in the latter half of the film but the film maintains tension and mood from beginning to end. It all just gets a bit…bloodier.
Jon Spaihts' and Damon Lindelof's script doesn't do the performers any favors shuffling them to and fro between the ship and the alien construction without much room for development. Reveals are shoehorned in without much setup (one involving Theron's Vickers that's shockingly mishandled) but for the most part the ensemble is ready to chomp into the script's bigger picture conceits. Rapace is a physical performer capable of pulling off a grisly scene involving an alien some sharp objects and a painful procedure (sure to be the scene of the blockbuster season. Among the rest of the crew Fassbender's David stands out as the film's revelatory performance delivering a digestible ambiguity to his mechanical man that playfully toys with expectations from his first entrance. The creature effects in Prometheus will wow you but even Fassbender's smallest gesture can send the mind spinning. The power of his smile packs more of a punch than any facehugger.
Much like Lindelof's Lost Prometheus aims to explore the idea of asking questions and seeking answers and on Scott's scale it's a tremendous unexpected ride. A few ideas introduced to spur action fall to the way side in the logic department but with a clear mission and end point Prometheus works as a sweeping sci-fi that doesn't require choppy editing or endless explosions to keep us on the edge of our seats. Prometheus isn't too far off from the Alien xenomorphs: born from existing DNA of another creature the movie breaks out as its own beast. And it's wilder than ever.
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Enigmatic and deliberate Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy makes no reservations while unraveling its heady spy story for better or worse. The film based on the bestselling novel by John Le Carre is purposefully perplexing effectively mirroring the central character George Smiley's (Gary Oldman) own mind-bending investigation of the British MI6's mole problem. But the slow burn pacing clinical shooting style and air of intrigue only go so far—Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy sports an incredible cast that can't dramatically translate the movie's impenetrable narrative. Almost from the get go the movie collapses under its own weight.
After a botched mission in Hungary that saw his colleague Jim (Mark Strong) gunned down in the streets Smiley and his boss Control (John Hurt) are released from the "Circus" (codename for England's Secret Intelligence Service). But soon after Smiley is brought back on board as an impartial observer tasked to uncover the possible infiltration of the organization. The former agent already dealing with the crippling of his own marriage attempts to sift through the history and current goings on of the Circus narrowing his hunt down to four colleagues: Percy aka "Tinker" (Toby Jones) Bill aka "Tailor" (Colin Firth) Roy aka "Soldier" (Ciaran Hinds) and Toy aka "Poor Man" (David Dencik). Working with Peter (Benedict Cumberbatch) a conflicted younger member of the service and Ricki (Tom Hardy) a rogue agent who has information of his own Smiley slowly uncovers the muddled truth—occasionally breaking in to his own work place and crossing his own friends to do so.
Describing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as dense doesn't seem complicated enough. The first hour of the monster mystery moves at a sloth's pace trickling out information like the tedious drips of a leaky faucet. The talent on display is undeniable but the characters Smiley included are so cold that a connection can never be made. TTSS sporadically jumps around from past to present timelines without any indication: a tactic that proves especially confusing when scenes play out in reoccurring locations. It's not until halfway through that the movie decides to kick into high gear Smiley's search for a culprit finally becoming clear enough to thrill. A film that takes its time is one thing but Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy does so without any edge or hook.
What the movie lacks in coherency it makes up for in style and thespian gravitas. Director Tomas Alfredson has assembled some of the finest British performers working today and they turn the script's inaccessible spy jargon into poetry. Firth stands out as the group's suave slimeball a departure from his usual nice guy roles. Hardy assures us he's the next big thing once again as the agency's resident moppet a lover who breaks down after a romantic fling uncovers horrifying truth. Oldman is given the most difficult task of the bunch turning the reserved contemplative Smiley into a real human. He half succeeds—his observational slant in the beginning feels like an extension of the movie's bigger problems but once gets going in the second half of the film he's quite a bit of fun.
Alfredson constructs Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy like a cinematic architect each frame dripping with perfectly kitschy '70s production design and camera angles that make the spine tingle. He creates paranoia through framing similar to the Coppola's terrifying The Conversation but unlike that film TTSS doesn't have the characters or story to match. The movie strives to withhold information and succeeds—too much so. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy wants us to solve a mystery with George Smiley but it never clues us in to exactly why we should want to.

Even though recent reports stated that Metallo and Lois Lane's militant father would be the villains in Warner Bros. anticipated Superman reboot, it's now official: General Zod will make his triumphant return to theaters in December 2012 as Michael Shannon has been cast as the fan favorite character today. He takes over the role from Terence Stamp, who played the Kryptonian baddie in the 1978 original and its 1981 sequel, and joins Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane in the new production, which is set to begin this summer.
Zack Snyder is directing Superman: The Man of Steel for the studio while Christopher Nolan acts as producer/creative godfather to the new franchise, joined by his partner/wife Emma Thomas, Charles Roven (who worked with Nolan on his billion dollar Batman franchise) and Snyder's wife/partner Deborah. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips of Legendary Pictures will executive produce. David S. Goyer wrote the screenplay based on his and Nolan's story.
The plan is to shoot this summer, though there's still more casting to get done. We need to know who will play second-tier characters like Jimmy Olsen and Perry White from The Daily Planet as well as who will appear as Ursa and Non, Zod's right-hand man and left-hand woman (both gave the Last Son of Krypton one hell of a battle in Superman II). While those characters may or may not be in the script, one thing is for sure: Snyder and co. have hired perhaps the perfect actor to play Zod. Shannon has a tremendous presence on screen, as anyone who's seen his work in Revolutionary Road, Boardwalk Empire or Take Shelter (his most recent film credit which Sony Pictures Classics will release sometime this year) can attest to. He should prove to be a formidable foe for The Man of Steel as well as a great on-set collaborator for Cavill.
Source: Variety

The Tourist is about as difficult to get through as spotting the vowels in the name of its director. Florian Henckel von Donnersmark was last seen receiving a Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2007 for The Lives of Others which was about a couple living in East Berlin who were being monitored by the police of the German Democratic Republic. Its positive reception made way for the assumption that Donnersmark would continue to populate the USA with films of seemingly otherworldly and underrepresented themes. But his current project is saddening in its superficiality and total implausibility.
The film’s only real upside is its stars: two of our most prized Americans. Johnny Depp plays Frank Tupelo a math teacher from Wisconsin who travels to Europe after his wife leaves him presumably because of his weakness and simplicity. While en route to Venice he meets Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie) who situates herself in his company after she receives a letter from her criminal lover Alexander Pearce (who stole some billions from a very wealthy Russian and the British government) with instructions to find someone on a train who looks like him and make the police believe that he is the real Alexander Pearce to throw the authorities and the Russians off his track. Elise picks Frank and after they are photographed kissing each other on the balcony of Elise’s hotel everyone begins to believe Frank is the real Pearce and so begins the chase.
While Donnersmark could not have picked two better looking people to film roaming around Venice his lack of faith in the audience is obvious. Every aspect of the characters is hammed up again and again as if Donnersmark felt burdened with the task of making us see his vision. Doubtful that we’re capable of getting to where he wants us he has crafted a movie completely devoid of subtlety. Elise’s strength and superiority over Frank are portrayed by close-ups and repeated instances of men burping up their lungs upon seeing her (as if her beauty is in any way subjective?). And in case we forgot that Frank is the victim in this story -- even though he’s been tricked chased and shot at - Donnersmark still felt the need to pin him with a lame electronic cigarette to puff on. Frank and Elise somehow manage to lack mystery even though we get very few factual details about each of them.
Nothing extraordinary comes to us in the way of the film’s structural elements either. There is very little of the action that The Tourist’s marketing led us to believe and the dialog is often painful. The plot itself is almost shockingly unbelievable especially when we’re asked to believe that Elise falls in love with Frank after a combination of kissing him once and her disclosed habit of swooning over men she only spent an hour with (yes that was on her CV).
The Tourist is rather empty and cosmetic. It’s worth seeing if you’re a superfan of Jolie or Depp but don’t expect to walk out of the theater with anything more than the stub you came in with.